Tag Archives: Chris Riddell

Michael Rosen and Chris Riddell have teamed up to publish a collection of wonderful poems for young children, called A Great Big Cuddle. It’s a big, beautiful book full of Michael Rosen’s poems and illustrated by Chris Riddell. It’s out now from Walker Books.

Check out these great videos of Michael Rosen performing some of his poems from A Great Big Cuddle. I love his poems but seeing him perform them is terrific. He’s got a fascinating face that is incredibly animated when he performs.

It’s hard to remember hating anything as much as I hate Affinity; a bone-deep loathing for the faceless unknown and the concrete walls of my own DNA. Evie is a Shield: designed to kill in order to protect, and the Affinity Project have finally come for her. But Evie isn’t ready for the sinister organisation to take control of her life, her body, her mind. She isn’t ready to follow their rules about who may live and who must die – not when it condemns the innocent. She has one option: risk losing everything and everyone – including Jamie – and run.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully asks what if you weren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you were like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend might just be the God of mountain lions…

A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Chris Riddell

The poems in A Great Big Cuddle fizz off the page with sound and rhythm, energy and laughter, as Rosen captures in the most remarkable way what it means to be very, very young. A child’s world with all its details and feelings – toys and games,
animals and made-up creatures, likes and dislikes – is vividly conjured up in the most memorable, playful language, and Chris Riddell has produced some his most extraordinary pictures ever to bring this world to life. It’s a book that will be enjoyed
by the oldest grown-up and the youngest child – and a future classic.

To celebrate Chris Riddell being named the new Children’s Laureate I have a very special giveaway. I have a limited edition copy of Fortunately the Milk signed by both Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell to give away to one lucky reader. I absolutely love this book, both for Neil’s story and Chris’ illustrations!

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition! The winner of the signed book is Laraine.

It was fantastic to wake up to the news that Chris Riddell has been named the UK Children’s Laureate for 2015-2017. Chris is the nineth laureate and follows in the footsteps of such giants of the children’s literature world as Malorie Blackman, Michael Morpurgo, Anthony Brown and Anne Fine. Chris Riddell is a fantastic illustrator who has worked with Neil Gaiman, Russell Brand, Martin Jenkins, and most notably with Paul Stewart on their Edge Chronicles series. Has also written and illustrated his own books, including the Ottoline series, the Goth Girl series, and the picture books The Emperor of Absurdia and Wendel’s Workshop.

His plan for his two-year post as Children’s Laureate is to encourage people to draw every day, he’ll post a daily illustration on his online ‘laureate log,’ and he wants to “to celebrate librarians at the heart of our schools.”

Check out the Love Reading 4 Kids UK Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lovereading4kids) as Chris has illustrated each of the previous Children’s Laureates . They are absolutely wonderful illustrations!